Photographs taken during GBBC 2026 at Puttakere

Following our report of the bird count on 14th Feb 2026, sharing with you all some of the pictures taken by two ardent nature photographers.

  

Vasant Joshi: Pics taken during the bird count on 14th Feb 2026. Gear is Nikon D850 with 500 mm AF-S Nikkor Prime Lens:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/F6tkHScsy8cb81Co7  

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Grey heron with catch

Jay Govind: Pics taken during her solo bird count on 15th and 16th Feb 2026:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/RERrdqesu1pRoWW97

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Cormorants galore

Click on the respective album links to see more of the amazing ecosystem at Puttenahalli Lake and visit the lake to see for yourself.

GBBC 2026 at Puttenahalli Lake (Puttakere)

As part of the global Great Backyard Bird Count 2026, a morning bird walk was conducted on 14th February at Puttenahalli Kere, led by Dr. Ishita Das (sincere thanks to her).

We had over 30 participants including students from Jain University and residents from the lake area and beyond. 

 approx 2 hours (roughly 7 - 9 a.m.)
 0.8 km (Traveling count)
 37 species recorded

From wetland specialists to tree-top songsters, the lake was buzzing with life. The observations indicate a healthy mix of resident waterbirds and common urban woodland species.

 Indian Spot-billed Ducks & Coots (suggest healthy open water habitat)

 Gray-headed Swamphens & Little Grebes (reflect stable marsh habitat)

 Cormorants across three species (indicates healthy fish availability)

 Herons, Egrets & a Glossy Ibis (reflect shallow water zones and abundant aquatic life)

 Brahminy Kites circling overhead (suggests an active predatory layer within the lake ecosystem)

 Three species of sunbirds (reflect nectar availability in flowering trees) 

  Insectivores such as Greenish Warbler and Ashy Prinia (suggest active foraging habitats)

View the checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S300236476

A. Waterbirds & Wetland Species

• Indian Spot-billed Duck – 4
• Eurasian Coot – 3
• Gray-headed Swamphen – 7
• White-breasted Waterhen – 2
• Red-wattled Lapwing – 2
• Little Grebe – 6
• Little Cormorant – 18
• Great Cormorant – 1
• Indian Cormorant – 25
• Glossy Ibis – 1
• Little Egret – 1
• Medium Egret – 1
• Indian Pond-Heron – 5
• Gray Heron – 6
• White-browed Wagtail – 2

B. Raptors

• Black Kite – 1
• Brahminy Kite – 3

C. Tree & Urban Woodland Birds

• Greater Coucal – 1
• Asian Koel – 2
• White-throated Kingfisher – 3
• White-cheeked Barbet – 2
• Rose-ringed Parakeet – 1
• Indian Golden Oriole – 2
• House Crow – 1
• Asian Tit (Cinereous) – 4
• Common Tailorbird – 1
• Ashy Prinia – 1
• Red-whiskered Bulbul – 1
• Greenish Warbler – 1
• Indian White-eye – 1
• Common Myna – 3
• Jungle Myna – 1
• Pale-billed Flowerpecker – 3
• Purple-rumped Sunbird – 3
• Purple Sunbird – 2
• Loten's Sunbird – 1
• Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) – 3

Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) 2026 at Puttenahalli Lake (Puttakere)

The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) 2026 will be held worldwide 13-16 February, bringing together people across countries to observe and record birds as part of a massive citizen science effort. 

As part of this global event, PNLIT is hosting a community birding session in the Puttenahalli Lake (Puttakere) neighbourhood, and we warmly invite you to participate. Over 120 species of birds have been identified at the lake by different people over the years, so let us see how many we spot ourselves.

Read more about GBBC worldwide on https://www.birdcount.org/about/ and India on https://birdcount.in/counts/gbbc/. This event is registered on both the websites.

Our Event Details
Date: Saturday, 14th Feb 2026
Time: 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. (free to join anytime and continue beyond that as well)
Starting point: gazebo at Puttenahalli Lake

https://maps.app.goo.gl/KrAh4e9nbSwpe2bU6 

Main guide: Dr Ishita Das

You may join this WhatsApp group for updates (optional):  https://chat.whatsapp.com/HZzya8fsrmxLsZE4V640xH?mode=gi_t

Participants will join the PNLIT birding group to identify and count birds found around the lake and neighbourhood. No prior experience in birdwatching is required — this event is suitable for beginners, families, students, and nature enthusiasts of all ages. Please bring water, cap, binoculars, cameras, paper and pen to record observations.

Participants are also encouraged to observe birds beyond the lake neighbourhood and record sightings from other locations during the GBBC period.

After the full GBBC event, GBBC will issue downloadable certificates to all participants who record lists with ebird/ Merlin for GBBC.

We look forward to celebrating Bengaluru’s rich birdlife together while contributing to a global conservation effort.

The Bangalore Bird Count and Bird Logs

Bird Count at Puttenahalli Lake

Mr Gopinath Subbarao is coordinating the Bangalore Bird Count for Puttenahalli Lake.  

 

Event details

16th Feb 2014 (Sunday)
7:00 a.m. onwards 

Assemble at the Gazebo at Puttenahalli Lake

Bring the following if possible, but not compulsory

- A small notebook and pencil or pen

- A cap 

- Camera or Binoculars or any other additional gadgets that you have and wish to carry with you during the spotting of birds.

 

Spot as many birds as possible and have a good time together for a good cause.

For more details and clarifications, please contact Gopinath 

(9845030726 / subbaraogopinath@gmail.com)
 

About the Bird Counts

16th February is the day of the Bangalore Bird Count (BBC) 2014. 

This is a synchronous bird-watch that covers all important birding sites in Bangalore, in an attempt to come up with an informally vetted list of birds seen around Bangalore on a single day. 

According to the organisers of BBC Praveen and Prashanth (email ids below), the locations that will be monitored on Feb 16 by confirmed teams include:  

Cubbon Park, Hoskote, Kaikondrahalli, Hebbal, Rampura-Kalkare, Nandi Hills, GKVK Campus, Madhure, Hesseraghatta, Hulimangala, Ramnagara, Shivanahalli, Jaipurdodi, Kanakapura, Savandurga, Yellamallappa Chetty, Bellandur, Muthanallur, Jakkur, IISc Campus, Anekal Area, Byramangala, Nelligudda, Valley School Area, Puttenahalli Lake.

BBC overlaps with two other pan-India events, the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) (Feb 14-17) and the Big Bird Day (BBD) (Feb 16). (Check the links for more info)

All these events will use eBird (ebird.org) as the platform for data entry and collation, and hence data sharing will be quite easy. So you can participate in one (the local event) and ensure you participate in all.

All the GBBC lists done from Bangalore on Feb 16 shall automatically be collected for BBC. All eBird lists from India made during those four days will be considered for GBBC  - hence, it will also include the BBC submissions.

If you would like participate in BBD from Bangalore, just inform the organisers of BBC by email after the birding session - they will consider your BBC list in eBird as a submission towards BBD under your name. Hence, when you participate in BBC, this means you can participate in BBD also by a simple confirmation email sent offline.

Praveen J:             paintedstork@gmail.com 

Prashanth MB:     prashanth.mb@gmail.com

Bird Logs

Abhijith Rao has created a log entry for Puttakere at the ebird website, where all birders can enter the data of the birds that they've spotted at the lake. 

To access the map: http://ebird.org/ebird/submit/map

"Puttenahalli Lake, Nataraja Layout, Arakere, Bangalore, Karnataka, India"

You'll see the BIRDING HOTSPOT icon floating over the lake, click on it

"Puttenhalli Lake (Puttakere)".

 

Once you've selected that and submitted the page, you'll be taken to the submissions page at this location - http://ebird.org/ebird/submit/effort?locID=L2583597.

 

Fill in the details of the birds you see and over time, this will form a great repository of data.

 

Go to these links to see how the data can be used - 

http://ebird.org/ebird/eBirdReports?cmd=Start

 

eBird itself is created by © Audubon and Cornell Lab of Ornithology. So all this data will be saved for some time to come.

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